’iNCATALOGED 


12. 


^  Jy. 

}C  ' */  k'tf+YftrH 


Oak  Street 
UNCLASSIFIED 


Che  Expansion  of  the  Republic 
most  of  the  Mississippi 


By  JOHN  A*  KASSON 


The  Expansion  of  the  Republic  West 
of  the  Mississippi. 


ADDRESS 

At  the  Dedication  of  the  Historic  Monument  erected  at 
Sioux  City,  Iowa,  in  Commemoration  of  the  Acquisi¬ 
tion  of  Louisiana  and  in  Honor  of  the  First 
Explorers  and  Pioneers  of  the  West. 

May  30TH,  A.  D.  1901. 

By  JOHN  A.  KASSON. 


Fkluow- Citizens  : 

The  occasion  which  has  brought  this  great  assembly 
together  evokes  the  memory  of  many  important  events  in  our 
national  history.  To  all  except  the  aged  pioneer  it  seems 
impossible  that  only  a  century  ago  all  the  fair  land  we  look 
upon  from  this  eminence  and  all  westward  to  the  continental 
range  of  mountains  was  a  desert,  and  under  the  dominion  of 
despotic  Spain;  that  all  the  land  eastward  to  the  Mississippi, 
as  well  as  all  toward  the  setting  sun,  was  at  that  time,  and  had 
been  for  unrecorded  ages,  in  possession  of  wild  beasts  and  of 
savages  of  the  human  race. 

Only  ninety-seven  summers  have  passed  since  a  roving 
Indian  standing  on  this  highland  would  have  witnessed  a  scene 
altogether  new  and  strange  to  him.  A  barge  55  feet  long, 


having  a  forecastle  forward  and  a  cabin  aft,  carrying  22  oars 
and  a  square  sail,  drew  near  this  shore  on  its  passage  up  the 
great  river  of  the  Missouri.  It  was  accompanied  by  two 
smaller  open  boats;  and  altogether  they  carried  about  forty 
pale-faces,  chiefly  soldiers.  A  number  of  the  men  landed  at 
the  foot  of  this  bluff  and  ascended  it,  bearing  gently  a  burden 
which  they  deposited  in  a  grave,  and  marked  the  spot  with  a 
rude  cedar  post.  Upon  its  face  was  inscribed  the  name  of 
Sergeant  Charles  Floyd  of  the  United  States  Army,  who  had 
died  that  day,  August  20,  1804.  No  Priest’s  prayer  or  bless¬ 
ing  was  heard;  but  certain  simple  honors  of  the  military 
service  broke  the  sad  silence  of  the  ceremony.  After  this 
solemn  act  these  pale-faces  descended  the  bluff  to  the  boats ; 
and  the  barge  with  its  pirogues  moved  a  mile  up  the  river  into 
the  mouth  of  a  tributary  stream,  then  30  yards  wide,  where 
the  company  camped  for  the  night.  The  brilliant  stars  of  this 
western  firmament  drew  their  eyes  and  their  thoughts  heaven¬ 
ward,  whither  their  brave  companion  had  just  departed,  and 
made  the  scene  more  beautiful  than  the  day.  In  honor  of  the 
dead  they  dedicated  to  his  memory  both  the  burial  bluff  and 
the  little  river  in  which  they  were  moored.  Thenceforth  for 
all  time  these  two  objects  in  nature  shall  preserve  the  name  of 
their  dead  comrade.  So  does  a  name — a  mere  sound  in  the 
air — become  more  imperishable  than  any  structure  of  human 
workmanship.  Unaffected  by  flood  or  tempest,  or  war’s 
destructiveness,  it  is  repeated  from  father  to  son,  for  all 
generations.  . 

Thus  prematurely  died  and  was  buried  the  courageous 
young  Kentuckian.  He  had  enlisted  for  a  long  and  adven¬ 
turous  service  which  was  expected  to  lead  him  along 
mighty  rivers,  among  many  wild  and  strange  tribes,  and  over 
unknown  mountains,  until  his  eyes  should  finally  rest  upon 
that  great  and  distant  ocean  which  washed  the  western  shores 
of  the  unexplored  continent.  Although  he  perished  in  the 
earlier  stage  of  the  enterprise  this  lonely  burial,  which  cut  off 


his  hopes  and  his  career,  has  preserved  his  name  and  memory 
among  mankind  above  that  of  his  comrades  who  continued 
the  struggle  to  the  end,  and  who  returned  to  receive  the 
rewards  voted  by  an  appreciative  Congress. 

The  Great  Exploration  oe  1804-6. 

President  Jefferson  had  in  the  winter  of  i8o2-’3  conceived 
the  plan  of  an  exploring  expedition  up  the  Missouri  and  across 
the  mountains  to  the  Pacific  with  the  view  of  scientific  investi¬ 
gation  and  of  opening  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  also  of  find¬ 
ing  a  feasible  route  for  the  limited  commerce  of  that  day  across 
the  continent.  He  hoped  also  to  divert  the  fur  trade  of  the 
Northwest  into  the  hands  of  Americans.  He  obtained  an  ap¬ 
propriation  from  Congress  of  $2,500,  with  which  he  proceeded 
to  organize  a  company  under  the  leadership  of  Captains  Merri- 
wether  Eewis,  his  private  secretary,  and  William  Clark.  The 
details  of  that  expedition  are  interesting,  but  are  already  so 
well  known  that  there  is  no  occasion  to  repeat  them  in  this 
address.  Its  success  was  only  accomplished  by  the  exercise 
of  all  the  virtues  known  to  the  life  of  the  frontiersman.  It 
required  valor,  persevereuce,  mutual  trust,  self-confidence, 
vigilance,  knowledge  of  the  instincts  and  characteristics  of  the 
savage,  inventive  resource,  endurance,  continuous  toil,  and 
unlimited  courage.  The  explorers  left  their  camp  in  Illinois, 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  on  May  14,  1804,  and  six¬ 
teen  days  from  their  departure  saw  the  last  cabin  of  the  white 
man,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
It  was  ninety-seven  years  ago  this  day  that  they  bade  farewell 
to  these  huts  of  semi-civilization.  Thenceforward  for  many, 
many  weary  months,  upward  along  the  endless  windings  and 
shifting  sandbars  of  that  treacherous  river,  and  through  the 
gorges  and  over  the  trackless  ridges  of  confused  mountains, 
and  down  the  unknown  streams  rushing  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
abandoning  their  old  boats  and  building  new,  in  peril  of  starva¬ 
tion,  in  peril  of  drowning,  in  peril  of  wild  beasts  and  of  wily 


3 


savages,  they  pushed  their  way  over  flooding  waters  and  path¬ 
less  forests  to  their  desolate  destination  on  an  uncharted  ocean 
coast  in  the  far  region  of  the  sunset.  Every  morning  found 
them  ignorant  where  their  evening  would  be.  The  sun  by  day 
and  the  stars  by  night  were  the  only  familiar  things  of  the 
visible  universe.  When  in  the  opening  of  a  second  winter  sea¬ 
son  they  arrived  on  the  bleak  and  desolate  ocean  shore  at  the 
mouth  of  a  great  river,  it  was  only  to  encounter  the  incessant 
cold  rains  of  winter,  the  increasing  dangers  of  famine,  and  the 
attacks  of  disease.  After  four  tedious  months  of  waiting  beside 
the  deserted  waters  of  the  Pacific,  hoping  vainly  for  sight  of  a 
vessel  that  should  take  their  homeward  messages  around  Cape 
Horn,  in  the  third  Spring  of  their  expedition  they  turned  their 
steps  again  into  the  continental  wilderness  on  their  return  (if 
God  should  permit  it)  to  the  lands  of  civilization  and  of  expect¬ 
ant  friends. 

Again  the  weary  hunt  for  wild  food,  again  the  endless  tug¬ 
ging  at  the  oars  upstream,  again  the  rugged  transit  of  mountain 
ranges,  once  more  the  search  for  new  passes  and  new  waters 
of  navigation  in  the  tangled  web  of  mountains,  until  at  last,  in 
the  Summer  of  1806,  their  boats  were  again  launched  upon  the 
Missouri.  Then  for  the  first  time  they  felt  themselves  truly 
“homeward  bound.”  Now  the  swift  current  of  the  great 
stream  which  was  lately  their  enemy  became  their  friend. 
Every  lapping  wavelet  now  sang  of  the  nearing  home.  The 
stars,  ever  brilliant  in  that  clear  atmosphere,  now  seemed  to 
shine  with  increasing  luster  as  they  rose  up  from  the  distant 
East,  where  anxious  friends  were  awaiting  the  long-expected 
tidings.  Familiar  scenes  of  old  camping  places  appeared  as 
they  swiftly  descended  the  river.  More  cheerily  than  on  the 
upward  voyage  they  now  leaped  into  the  stream  to  push  their 
boat  from  the  ever-lurking,  ever-changing  sandbars.  Instead 
of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  a  day  as  on  their  upward  voyage, 
they  now  counted  fifty,  sixty,  even  seventy  miles  per  day. 
There  was  little  halting  on  their  homeward  course.  But  as 


4 


they  came  by  the  Bluff  on  which  we  are  now  standing  the 
strong  magnet  of  memory  drew  them  to  the  shore.  Once  more 
the  Expedition  halted  at  this  landing  that  they  might  visit  the 
grave  of  their  dead  comrade.  They  restored  it  to  a  condition 
of  safety,  and  then  bade  the  sacred  deposit  a  long  farewell. 
Tittle  did  they  know — not  one  of  the  toil-worn  heroes  ever 
dreamed — of  a  future  scene  like  that  we  look  upon  to-day. 
They  saw  only  a  solitary  grave-mound  in  a  vast  desert  region, 
far  away  from  the  abodes  of  civilization.  We  behold  a  splendid 
monument  commemorating  the  spot  where  they  laid  their  com¬ 
rade  in  his  last  camping-ground,  while  jubilant  thousands 
celebrate  the  brilliant  deeds  of  the  men  who  then  sailed  sadly 
away  from  the  shore.  They  looked  upstream  and  eastward 
upon  a  limitless  solitude,  stretching  far  away  to  the  North  and 
to  the  Mississippi.  Our  eyes  look  upon  a  populous  and  pros¬ 
perous  city  which  shall  watch  forever  over  this  grave,  and 
around  it  a  rich  and  happy  State  of  the  American  Union,  with 
more  than  two  millions  of  patriotic  inhabitants,  who  to-day 
recall  with  pride  the  story  of  the  first  American  pioneers  of  the 
great  West.  It  is  a  transformation  scene  unmatched  in  any 
oriental  story.  But  these  pilgrims  of  the  wilderness,  ignorant 
and  undreaming  of  all  this  incredible  future,  passed  on,  plying 
their  oars,  until  at  the  end  of  nineteen  days  they  met  a  joyous 
welcome  from  the  villagers  of  St.  Touis,  and  rested  from  their 
labors. 


The  Historic  Commemoration. 

But  this  lofty  monument  is  not  erected  solely  to  commem¬ 
orate  the  modest  life  and  humble  career  of  the  Army  sergeant 
whose  bones  were  deposited  in  this  soil  long  before  the  plow  of 
civilization  had  disturbed  it.  Nor  will  this  memorial  only 
serve  to  celebrate  the  splendid  exploration  accomplished  by  his 
more  fortunate  companions.  It  also  perpetuates  the  memory 
of  a  grea  thistoric  act  which  influenced  the  fate  of  three  nations, 
and  opened  the  way  to  new  liberties  and  increased  happiness 


5 


for  mankind.  It  changed  the  development  of  our  people,  and 
gave  a  new  pathway  to  the  march  of  our  young  Republic.  It 
is  this  historical  significance  of  the  monument  which  induced 
the  National  Congress,  the  Legislature  of  Iowa,  and  the  patri¬ 
otic  people  of  Sioux  City  to  combine  their  efforts  for  its  erec¬ 
tion.  It  is  my  honorable  and  welcome  duty  to-day,  Fellow- 
citizens,  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  history  of  that  great 
acquisition  in  our  national  progress  which  this  monument  will 
forever  commemorate,  and  to  indicate  its  influence  upon  the 
later  destinies  of  the  Republic. 

Changing  Fortunes  of  Louisiana. 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  Anglo-French  War  of  1756  the 
French  King  claimed  under  the  name  of  “Louisiana”  not 
only  all  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  west  of  that  river,  but  also 
all  the  valley  on  the  east  of  it  lying  north  of  Spanish  Florida 
and  eastward  to  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  The  country  north 
of  the  upper  Ohio,  however,  was  regarded  as  a  part  of  Canada. 
The  Count  de  Vergennes  in  his  memorial  on  the  subject,  ad¬ 
dressed  to  the  King  of  France,  says  that  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  “separate  the  new  France  from  the  new  England 
as  distinctly  as  in  Europe  the  mountains  of  the  Pyrenees  sepa¬ 
rate  France  from  Spain.”* 

The  Louisiana  of  that  day  may  be  generally  described  as 
embracing  the  whole  region  north  of  Spanish  Mexico  and 
Spanish  Florida,  from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  from  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  with  the 
exception  of  that  northeastern  part  which  was  tributary  to 
the  Great  Lakes  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  therefore  associ¬ 
ated  with  Canada. 

The  French  were  very  active  in  establishing  trading  posts 
and  making  agreements  with  the  Indians  for  common  hostility 

*“Separent  aussi  distinctement  la  Nouvelle  France  de  la  Nouvelle 
Angleterre,  que  les  Monts  Pyrenees  separent,  en  Europe,  la  France 
d’avec  l’Espagne.” 


6 


to  the  English.  Along  the  undefined  Eastern  boundaries 
aggressions  were  continually  occurring  without  waiting  for 
declarations  of  war.  When  the  war  of  1756  came  it  proved 
exhaustive  for  both  parties,  but  ended  most  disastrously  for 
the  French.  They  were  obliged  in  the  end  to  surrender  to 
the  British  all  Canada,  and  all  of  Louisiana  lying  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  with  the  exception  of  New  Orleans  and  the  block 
of  adjacent  land  extending  east  to  the  boundary  of  west 
Florida.  The  delta  east  of  the  river,  and  all  the  remainder  of 
Louisiana  to  the  west  and  northwest  of  the  river  as  far  as  the 
mountains,  was  about  the  same  time  ceded  by  France  to  Spain 
in  compensation  for  her  losses  in  the  war  as  the  ally  of  France. 

The  retention  by  the  French  King  in  his  treaty  with 
England  of  the  lower  east  bank  of  the  river,  which  gave  to  the 
jealous  Spaniard  the  control  of  both  banks  for  a  long  distance 
above  the  mouth,  and  of  the  whole  Gulf  coast,  was  destined  to 
cause  much  angry  excitement  and  trouble  in  the  future,  with 
much  contention  between  the  United  States  and  Spanish  gov¬ 
ernments;  and  it  led  later  to  a  great  change  in  the  policy  of 
the  United  States.  The  Treaty  of  Peace  of  1763  assured  to 
England  the  free  navigation  of  the  river  to  its  mouth.  But 
commerce  in  barges  and  flat  boats  required  a  depot  near  New 
Orleans  for  its  transfer  to  ocean-going  vessels.  France,  how¬ 
ever,  had  relieved  herself  of  all  trouble  on  this  account  by  her 
secret  transfer  of  the  territory  to  Spain.  After  the  Peace  of 
1763  England  found  French  interests  withdrawn  from  the 
American  continent,  and  Spain  was  in  possession  of  all  the 
Mississippi  region  which  France  had  owned  or  claimed,  except 
that  portion  toward  the  Alleghanies  and  above  the  Ohio,  which 
was  ceded  by  the  Treaty  to  England. 

This  was  the  situation  when  our  Revolutionary  War  again 
disturbed  the  international  conditions  in  respect  to  Louisiana. 
Naturally  the  sympathies  of  the  French  people  and  govern- 
men  were  with  our  American  patriots  because  England  was 
our  adversary.  But  the  Memoir  of  Count  de  Vergennes,  before 


7 


referred  to,  shows  that  the  motive  of  France  for  participating 
in  the  Revolutionary  War  as  our  ally  was  found  in  the  hope  of 
inducing  Spain  to  retrocede  Louisiana  and  of  recovering  Canada 
for  herself.  The  Memoir  expressly  mentions  the  danger  to 
both  Spain  and  France  if  the  Americans  should  succeed  in 
their  Revolution.  The  French  statesman  says  plainly  that 
“  the  United  Provinces  of  America,  after  shaking  off  the  met¬ 
ropolitan  yoke,  will  be  in  a  condition  to  give  the  law  to  France 
and  Spain  in  all  America,  and  they  will  invade  their  posses- 
sessions  at  the  moment  when  the  two  crowns  will  be  least 
thinking  of  it.”  The  French  government  was  not  so  desirous 
for  our  success  as  for  the  loss  by  England  of  her  American 
Colonies  and  later  acquisitions,  and  for  the  restoration  to 
France  of  her  former  possessions.  But  even  with  her  aid  the 
war  had  no  such  result.  England  retained  Canada  and  con¬ 
ceded  to  the  revolted  Colonies  their  independence,  together 
with  all  the  territory  held  by  England  south  of  Canada  and 
east  of  the  Mississippi. 

This  territory  seemed  to  our  fathers  vast  enough  for  many 
generations  of  Americans.  So  late  as  1801  Jefferson  in  his 
Inaugural  Message  congratulated  the  American  people  on 
‘  ‘  possessing  a  chosen  country,  with  room  enough  for  our 
descendants  to  the  hundredth  and  thousandth  generation.” 
And  yet  in  that  same  generation,  during  that  very  administra¬ 
tion,  the  expansion  of  the  territory  of  the  Republic  began,  not 
by  will  of  President  or  Government,  but  by  that  Providential 
force  of  development  that  has  so  often  in  our  history  overborne 
or  compelled  the  will  of  man.  The  story  of  this  wonderful 
transformation  of  public  opinion  and  statesmanship  may  be 
briefly  told. 

After  the  establishment  of  our  independence,  and  indeed 
before  it,  our  already  scattered  population  had  begun  to  feel 
its  way  across  the  Alleghanies  into  the  fertile  lands  of  the  great 
valley  beyond.  All  the  transportation  of  their  products  sea¬ 
ward  must  follow  the  current  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the 


8 


Gulf  of  Mexico.  Spain,  now  holding  all  the  outlets  through 
Bast  and  West  Florida,  and  the  entire  Gulf  coast  as  far  as 
Mexico  by  her  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  was  arbitrary,  selfish, 
and  jealous  of  this  right  of  transit  through  her  territory.  The 
United  States  Government  by  treaty  of  1795  had  secured  from 
Spain  the  right  of  depot  at  New  Orleans  for  products  of  the 
United  States  for  the  term  of  three  years  only,  with  provision 
for  its  continuance  or  for  the  establishment  of  another  depot  on 
the  banks  of  the  river.  For  a  few  years  this  arrangement  was 
continued  undisturbed.  Then  came  a  report  from  Europe 
that  Spain  under  the  commanding  influence  of  Bonaparte  had 
retroceded  New  Orleans  and  the  entire  province  of  Louisiana 
to  France.  In  the  subsequent  excitement  among  the  colonists 
the  Spanish  Intendant  for  some  unknown  reason  cancelled  the 
privilege  of  depot  for  our  citizens.  The  Americans  of  the 
whole  valley  suddenly  became  aware  of  the  frail  tenure  by 
which  they  held  their  commercial  privileges.  The  entire  val¬ 
ley  became  angrily  excited,  and  was  ready  for  immediate  war 
and  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  if  the  depot  privilege  were  not 
restored. 

The  report  of  the  retrocession  was  afterwards  verified,  and 
the  title  to  Louisiana  was  again  in  France.  It  had  been 
effected  by  a  secret  treaty  executed  in  October,  1800,  but  the 
terms  were  not  published  until  many  years  afterward.  The 
Americans  of  the  valley,  foreseeing  the  closing  of  their  only 
commercial  gateway,  flooded  Congress  with  their  remon¬ 
strances,  threatened  to  take  measures  for  their  security  into 
their  own  hands,  and  boldly  announced  that  their  national 
allegiance  depended  on  national  protection.  The  more  violent 
among  them  indicated  the  possibility  of  organizing  an  inde¬ 
pendent  republic  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  of  seizing  the  con¬ 
trol  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  valley,  and  expelling  both  France 
and  Spain. 

President  Jefferson  became  profoundly  alarmed  by  the 
energetic  action  of  the  West.  He  wrote  to  our  Minister  (Liv- 


9 


ingston)  at  Paris  that  the  possession  by  France  of  New  Orleans 
would  force  the  United  States  into  alliance  with  England.  He 
summoned  Monroe  to  go  with  all  speed  of  preparation  on  a 
special  mission  to  Paris,  the  object  of  which  was  declared  to  be 
to  purchase  New  Orleans  and  the  Floridas,  or  so  much  of  them 
as  the  powers  in  possession  could  be  persuaded  to  part  with. 
His  purpose  was  wholly  limited  to  the  question  of  acquiring 
lands  or  permanent  depots  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
on  the  rivers  running  through  Florida,  for  the  convenience  of 
our  commerce  which  required  outlets  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
the  northern  shore  of  which  would  now  be  wholly  controlled 
by  Spain  and  France  against  the  interests  of  the  United  States. 
This  control  by  two  foreign  and  allied  powers  was  rightfully 
regarded  as  more  dangerous  to  American  interests  than  was 
the  sole  dominion  of  Spain.  France  under  Bonaparte,  then 
First  Consul,  was  a  much  more  dangerous  neighbor  than  the 
King  of  Spain.  The  simple  presence  of  French  sovereignty  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  was  a  provocation  to  the  hostile 
fleets  of  Europe,  and  particularly  an  invitation  to  the  fleets  of 
England  to  enter  and  seize  New  Orleans  and  the  mouths  of  that 
great  river.  This  would  establish  Great  Britain,  already  en¬ 
trenched  upon  our  northern  frontier,  on  the  other  flank  of  the 
young  Republic,  involving  a  thousand  dangers  to  our  growing 
interests  in  the  newly-settled  valley  of  the  West. 

French  recklessness  of  international  obligations  on  the 
high  seas  had  already  been  disastrous  to  our  commerce  on  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  Eastern  merchants  had  numerous  and  just 
claims  against  the  French  for  their  seizures  of  our  vessels  and 
cargoes  on  the  ocean,  and  now  they  were  to  control  also  the 
commercial  outlet  of  the  continental  inland,  and  to  invite 
thither  the  presence  of  warlike  fleets.  The  instinct  of  danger 
which  developed  itself  in  the  West  was  fully  justified.  Jeffer¬ 
son,  who  during  his  long  residence  in  Paris  had  become 
impregnated  with  French  ideas  and  French  sympathies,  was 
slower  in  appreciating  the  dangers  than  were  the  people  of  the 


io 


valley.  Indeed  his  adhesion  to  French  ideas  and  French 
interests  had  years  before  caused  a  certain  alienation  of  senti¬ 
ment  between  him  and  Washington.  The  terrible  excesses  of 
the  French  Revolution,  its  gross  infidelity  and  its  shocking 
bloodshed  in  the  effort  to  abolish  Christianity  and  law,  had 
offended  all  Washington’s  sentiments  of  religion  and  humanity. 
The  sympathies  of  Washington  were  on  the  side  of  the  religious 
civilization  of  his  English  forefathers;  while  Jefferson  looked 
complacently  upon  the  violent  destruction  of  all  that  was 
sanctified  by  ages  of  faith  and  of  custom.  So  now  after  Wash¬ 
ington’s  death,  himself  in  the  President’s  chair,  Jefferson  was 
far  behind  other  responsible  citizens  of  the  Republic  in  his 
appreciation  of  the  perils  arising  from  French  recklessness  in 
resort  to  war  and  international  violence.  He  did  not  lead,  but 
followed  the  people  in  their  protest  against  the  fresh  introduc¬ 
tion  of  the  power  of  France  into  the  very  center  of  our 
continent. 

The  Purchase  of  Louisiana  a  Surprise  to  the 
United  States  Government. 

Jefferson’s  proposed  measure  of  relief  was  limited,  and 
altogether  inadequate  to  provide  for  the  future  interests  of  the 
United  States.  His  instruction  to  his  Envoys  was  to  obtain 
“  a  cession  to  the  United  States  of  New  Orleans  and  of  West 
and  East  Flordia,  or  as  much  thereof  as  the  actual  proprietor 
can  be  prevailed  on  to  part  with.”  That  is  to  say,  their 
attention  was  called  exclusively  to  the  Gulf  Coast  line  extend¬ 
ing  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Atlantic.  This  appeared  to  be 
the  maximum  of  his  wishes.  There  was  no  hint  of  our  requir¬ 
ing  or  of  purchasing  the  great  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
He  then  proceeded  to  instruct  them  touching  a  possible 
reduction  of  even  this  demand,  if  necessary.  If  no  grant  of 
territorial  jurisdiction  could  be  obtained  they  were  to  secure 
mere  rights  of  deposit,  with  the  privilege  of  holding  real 
estate  for  commercial  purposes.  In  respect  to  the  Floridas, 


ii 


the  Envoys  were  to  secure  depots  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers 
which  ran  from  the  United  States  through  Florida  to  the  sea, 
together  with  their  free  navigation.  And  the  sum  within 
which  they  were  to  negotiate  for  any  or  all  of  these  concessions 
was  two  millions  of  dollars. 

It  thus  appears  that  Jefferson  had  never  contemplated  the 
acquisition  of  what  is  called  the  “  Louisiana  Purchase." 
Popular  opinion  has  attributed  to  him  a  remarkable  and 
statesmanlike  foresight  in  negotiating  for  that  vast  tract  of 
country  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  order  to  provide  for  the 
future  needs  of  the  then  young  Republic.  The  truth,  however, 
compels  us  to  recognize  the  fact  that  neither  the  American 
people  of  that  day — who  were  few  in  number  compared  with 
the  extent  of  their  existing  territory,  and  who  already  possessed 
ample  lands  beyond  their  power  of  cultivation — nor  their 
statesmen  in  their  farthest  vision  foresaw  the  amazing  develop¬ 
ment  destined  to  come  before  the  end  of  the  century.  Jeffer¬ 
son’s  plans,  not  anticipating,  but  following  the  demands  of  the 
“  West,”  only  sought  to  provide  for  an  existing  emergency, 
and  to  acquire  in  perpetuity  a  right  which  had  been  once  con¬ 
ceded  to  the  United  States  by  Spain — the  right  of  a  free  depot 
and  transfer  of  their  products.  That  was  the  attitude  of  our 
Government  when  Monroe  sailed  for  France.  Its  eyes  were 
directed  to  the  South,  not  to  the  West. 

The  real  scene  of  the  story  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  is 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  is  laid  in  Paris,  where 
the  proposal  of  the  greater  transaction  had  its  origin  in  the 
breast  of  the  powerful  master  of  the  French  Republic. 

The  First  Consul,  under  the  pressure  of  European  hostili¬ 
ties,  was  contemplating  an  act  of  transcendent  importance  to 
our  country.  He  had  secretly  held  all  of  Louisiana  at  his 
disposal  since  October,  1800,  although  our  Ministers  in  France 
and  Spain  had  been  kept  in  ignorance  of  it.  So  late  as  the 
Spring  of  1803,  Talleyrand  deceptively  denied  the  French 
title  in  a  conversation  with  Livingston.  But  now  a  renewal 


12 


of  the  war  with  England  was  threatened.  The  British  navy 
was  dominant  on  the  sea,  and  an  English  expedition  might  at 
any  time  seize  New  Orleans,  and  France  would  lose  the 
colony  without  compensation.  His  thoughts  wTere  already 
bent  on  a  sale  to  the  United  States  by  which  he  hoped  not 
only  to  satisfy  our  large  pecuniary  claims  which  we  were 
pressing  against  his  government,  but  to  obtain  besides  a  large 
surplus  to  reinforce  his  treasury  for  the  coming  war.  He  • 
directed  Marbois,  his  Minister  of  Finance,  to  offer  the  entire 
Province  of  Eouisiana  to  the  United  States,  and  to  demand  in 
compensation  one  hundred  million  francs,  together  with  the 
assumption  by  our  government  of  the  American  claims  against 
France  for  her  outrages  on  our  commerce.  He  said  to  his 
advisers  with  some  passion  in  his  voice  that  England  coveted 
that  colony  and  could  easily  make  a  descent  there;  but  she 
should  not  have  it.  For  France  to  retain  it  would  be  folly. 
He  would  cede  the  whole  to  the  United  States.  This  was  the 
situation  when  Monroe  arrived  in  Paris;  for  this  startling  pro¬ 
posal  had  been  already  communicated  to  Eivingston,  who  could 
hardly  credit  the  sincerity  of  the  offer. 

The  prospect  of  this  vast  and  complete  acquisition  which 
would  for  the  second  time  eliminate  French  control  from  the 
American  continent  and  settle  the  question  of  commercial 
depots  forever,  aroused  intense  interest  in  both  the  American 
Envoys,  but  especially  in  the  mind  of  Eivingston.  Com¬ 
munication  with  the  United  States  by  occasional  sailing  vessels 
was  slow  and  uncertain.  In  that  day  neither  telegraph  nor 
steamship  was  available.  A  royal  message  to  the  English 
Parliament  had  just  announced  the  British  preparation  for 
renewing  the  war  with  France.  If  anything  was  to  be  done 
with  Eouisiana  it  must  be  done  quickly.  Our  Envoys  could 
not  wait  for  new  instructions.  With  true  American  courage 
they  resolved  to  take  the  responsibility  upon  themselves,  and 
without  authority  win  a  new  empire  for  the  young  Republic. 
They  protested  against  the  extravagance  of  the  sum  demanded 


*3 


as  beyond  the  resources  of  the  American  government,  and 
succeeded  in  reducing  the  amount  of  purchase  money  to  sixty 
millions  of  francs,  and  in  limiting  the  assumption  of  American 
claims  to  twenty  millions  of  francs.  They  then  concluded  the 
three  treaties  with  all  haste.  They  were  signed  on  the  30th 
of  April,  1803.  The  war  cloud  hanging  over  the  English 
channel  burst  eighteen  days  after  the  signature.  When  the 
names  of  the  plenipotentiaries  were  appended  to  this  unexpected 
Convention  of  Purchase,  Livingston  enthusiastically  grasped 
the  hands  of  Marbois  and  Monroe,  saying:  “We  have  lived 
long,  but  this  is  the  noblest  work  of  our  lives  !  ”  The  praise 
for  this  magnificent  accomplishment  is  more  due  to  Robert  R. 
Livingston  than  to  any  other  American;  and  some  city  or 
county  in  every  State  formed  out  of  this  imperial  purchase 
should  bear  his  name  in  commemoration  of  his  courageous 
statesmanship. 

Acquisition  Denounced,  but  Justified  by  History. 

1 

The  purchase  money  was  indeed  a  great  sum  to  pay  out 
of  the  limited  Treasury  and  unestablished  national  credit  of 
the  United  States  of  that  day.  Bitter  opposition  was  aroused 
in  this  country  against  the  ratification  of  the  treaty.  The 
acquisition  was  derided  as  of  little  worth,  wholly  unnecessary, 
and  tending  to  weaken  the  old  States.  It  was  declared  to  be 
an  excessive  extension  of  territory  which  would  lead  to  a  dis¬ 
ruption  of  the  Union.  The  prophets  of  woe  were  as  effusive 
then  over  the  enlargement  of  our  territory  as  they  have  been 
ever  since  over  the  successive  expansions  which  have  illum¬ 
inated  the  pages  of  our  national  history.  The  evil  predictions 
of  1803  are  now  buried  deep  in  the  drift  of  time.  The  very 
names  of  the  false  prophets  are  in  oblivion,  while  the  many 
happy  millions  who  inhabit  the  twelve  States  and  two  Terri¬ 
tories  now  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
have  forever  repudiated  the  old  forecasts  of  evil.  Instead  of 
diminishing,  the  older  States  have  greatly  increased  their 


population  and  prosperity  with  the  settiement  and  development 
of  the  new.  The  newer  States  have  also  forged  new  bands  tor 
the  strengthening  of  the  Union.  The  bravest  blood  offered  to 
the  Nation  in  its  historic  struggle  for  Liberty  and  Union,  and 
in  its  struggle  for  the  maintenance  of  the  national  power  and 
glory  abroad,  has  flowed  from  the  veins  of  men  who  were 
nourished  on  this  new  soil  of  the  Republic.  Patriotism, 
courage,  energy,  flow  forth  with  every  heart  beat  of  the  child 
of  the  new  West.  He  has  subdued  the  savagery  which  dom¬ 
inated  the  prairies  and  plains  and  mountains  of  the  Louisiana 
of  1803.  He  has  covered  the  rolling  prairies  and  plains  with 
grazing  herds  and  smiling  harvests,  with  schoolhouses  for 
happy  children  and  churches  for  an  untrammelled  religion. 
He  has  uncovered  the  hidden  caves  of  rich  metals  in  the  great 
mountains  of  northwestern  Louisiana,  and  has  enriched  his 
whole  country  with  the  elements  of  a  new  and  unbounded 
prosperity.  Whenever  and  wherever  his  nation’s  flag  has 
been  thrown  to  the  breeze  at  home  or  abroad,  in  Mexico 
or  Alaska,  in  Cuba  or  other  islands  of  the  sea,  under  the  great 
wall  of  China  or  in  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Luzon,  wher¬ 
ever  deeds  of  loyalty,  of  courage  and  of  daring  are  required, 
there  in  the  front  rank  of  volunteers  is  heard  the  quick  response 
of  the  loyal  sons  of  the  West.  New  strength  has  been  acquired 
for  the  Constitution  and  Union,  new  hope  for  the  country’s 
prosperity  is  created  with  every  new  breath  born  in  the  ex¬ 
panded  territory  of  our  Republic. 

It  may  be  further  confidently  affirmed  that  our  national 
character  has  not  deteriorated  during  the  century  in  which  we 
have  followed  the  Providential  law  of  our  national  growth  and 
development.  We  have  seen  in  what  manner  this  law  was 
introduced  and  historically  established.  I  call  it  Providential 
because  neither  our  statesmen  nor  our  people  proposed  it  or 
foresaw  it.  The  national  representatives  of  that  day,  including 
Jefferson  himself,  when  informed  of  the  Convention  signed  by 
our  Envoys  in  Paris,  doubted  its  constitutionality,  or  were 


15 


astounded  by  the  resulting  increase  of  the  public  debt.  They 
adopted  it  chiefly  because  of  the  evident  perils  to  existing 
national  interests  which  would  follow  its  rejection. 

The  Story  of  Louisiana  Dramatic — Her  Fate 
Providentiae. 

The  whole  story  of  Louisiana  involves  much  that  is 
dramatic  and  unexpected.  De  Soto  merely  crossed  its  central 
river  and  died  without  discovering  its  mouth  or  exploring  its 
course,  although  his  decimated  followers  later  escaped  through 
its  outlet  without  any  act  of  possession.  Consequently  Spain 
acquired  no  title  to  the  river  valley.  Then  came  France,  whose 
explorers  from  Canada  made  discoveries  from  the  sources  down¬ 
ward,  and  later  found  its  outlet  by  sea  and  took  possession 
upward.  Her  right  to  the  country  was  therefore  beyond  dis¬ 
pute.  Had  the  French  retained  possession  of  all  their  discov¬ 
eries  they  would  have  imprisoned  the  future  American  Republic 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Atlantic.  But  this  was  not 
the  Divine  purpose.  England  conquered  Canada,  and  Eastern 
Louisiana  followed  the  fate  of  her  sister  province  and  became 
British  colonial  territory.  As  a  consequence,  the  latter  fell  to 
the  United  States  upon  the  recognition  of  their  independence. 
So  it  happened  that  our  people  at  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  found  themselves  in  possession  as  far  as  the  Mississippi, 
but  there  were  barred  from  all  further  Western  progress  so 
long  as  Spain  held  all  the  vast  territory  west  of  the  river. 

Had  our  boundary  remained  there  for  a  hundred  years,  no 
human  mind  can  conceive  the  change  it  would  have  made  in 
the  destiny  of  this  nation.  Without  the  wheatfields  and  corn¬ 
fields  and  the  cattle  ranges  of  the  prairies  and  plains  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi,  without  the  lead  and  iron  ores  of  Missouri, 
without  the  vast  deposits  of  gold  and  silver  and  copper  of  the 
western  mountain  ranges,  with  no  roads  across  the  continent, 
with  no  harbors  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  without  possession  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  without  any  port  on  the  Gulf  of 


6 


/ 


Mexico,  above  all  without  the  incentive  to  our  individual 
activities  and  national  development  that  these  sources  of  wealth 
have  afforded — no  human  intellect,  no  poet’s  imagination,  can 
portray  what  would  have  been  our  fate  or  our  condition  to-day 
as  influenced  or  controlled  by  the  nations  which  might  have 
possessed  them.  What  wars  might  have  ensued,  what  liber¬ 
ties  might  have  perished,  what  miseries  might  have  befallen  ! 

But  at  the  Providential  moment  there  appeared  upon  the 
European  horizon  a  new  and  dominant  personal  force  in  the 
French  Republic  which  overawed  Spain,  and  her  king  yielded 
to  the  demand  of  “  Citizen  Bonaparte,”  andre stored  Louisiana 
to  France.  This  again  threatened  to  be  a  more  serious  obstacle 
to  our  growth  than  was  the  power  of  Spain,  for  the  military 
force  of  France  was  far  greater.  But  two  years  later  France 
finds  it  impracticable  to  retain  Louisiana  owing  to  her  naval 
inferiority  to  England,  and  Bonaparte  suddenly,  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  government  at  Washington,  conveys  the 
title  finally  and  forever  to  the  United  States.  Even  then 
Spain,  alarmed  at  the  absolute  and  final  disposal  of  the  country 
by  France,  protests  our  title  because  of  an  alleged  condition 
attached  to  her  retrocession  to  France.  This  condition  was 
officially  notified  to  the  United  States  that  Eouisiana  should 
never  be  conveyed  by  France  to  a  third  power.  But  Bonaparte 
imperatively  insisted  that  delivery  should  be  made  to  him 
under  the  cession  of  1800,  which  was  done;  and  he  immedi¬ 
ately  thereafter,  on  the  20th  December,  1803,  transferred  the 
possession  of  New  Orleans  to  the  United  States.  The  Eewis 
and  Clark  Expedition,  conceived  without  expectation  of  our 
possible  ownership,  was  thus  enabled  to  explore  the  territory  of 
Eouisiana  under  our  own  flag.  But  we  had  at  that  time  no 
acknowledged  title  to  the  country  westward  of  the  mountains 
to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Spain,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia  were 
on  that  coast  before  us.  Equally  in  the  order  of  Providence, 
and  just  in  time,  the  New  England  Captain  Gray,  under  the 
American  flag,  was  the  first  to  enter  the  mouth  of  the  great 


17 


river  of  Oregon  in  1792,  which  under  international  law  gave 
to  the  United  States  the  claim  of  discovery,  and  this  claim  was 
strongly  reinforced  by  the  succeeding  exploration  of  Lewis  and 
Clark.  With  this  inchoate  right  on  the  Pacific  Coast  the 
United  States  was  able  by  later  treaties  to  permanently  estab¬ 
lish  our  title  on  that  shore,  with  well-defined  limits  between 
the  Spanish  territory  on  the  south  and  the  British  on  the  north. 

The  Prize  Contested  in  Two  Wars. 

Our  acquisition  of  Louisiana  had  been  accomplished  by 
the  pacific  methods  of  diplomacy.  But  the  permanent  posses¬ 
sion  of  it  by  our  Union  was  only  to  be  preserved  at  the  cost  of 
great  treasure  and  by  the  sacrifice  of  many  lives.  In  less  than 
twelve  years  from  the  date  of  the  cession  by  France,  while  we 
were  at  war  with  Great  Britain  that  Power  despatched  an 
expedition  to  seize  the  mouth  of  the  River,  accompanied  by 
an  army  for  the  capture  of  New  Orleans.  The  men  of  the 
lower  valley  rushed  to  arms,  met  the  invading  enemy,  and 
drove  him  back  to  the  sea.  The  dramatic  feature  of  Louisi¬ 
ana’s  history  again  appears  in  the  fact  that  this  battle  was 
fought  after  the  signature  of  Peace,  of  which  the  tidings  had 
not  yet  reached  the  combatants.  This  battle,  however,  bril¬ 
liant  as  it  was  on  the  part  of  the  American  volunteers,  hardly 
rises  to  the  dignity  of  tragedy  in  comparison  with  the  prolonged 
struggle  which  followed  a  half  century  later. 

This  incomparable  valley,  dowered  with  inexhaustible 
wealth,  and  like  Helen  of  Troy  possessed  of  the  fatal  gift  of 
beauty,  was  destined  to  become  the  scene  of  the  greatest  con¬ 
flict  known  in  the  history  of  the  American  Continent — a 
conflict,  please  God  !  never  to  be  renewed.  On  this  30th  day 
of  May,  devoted  by  the  affection  of  the  American  people  to  the 
memory  of  the  heroes  of  the  War  for  the  Union,  we  cannot 
forget  the  splendid  services  of  the  men  who  by  their  indomitable 
courage  again  saved  the  Lower  Mississippi  to  the  United  States 


18 


together  with  all  the  original  Louisiana  on  both  banks  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 

In  our  great  civil  struggle  Louisiana  and  its  river  once 
more  became  the  mighty  stake  played  for  in  the  terrible  game 
of  war.  Again  the  question  was  presented  of  the  Northern 
right  of  access  to  the  sea  by  way  of  the  river,  and  of  the  con¬ 
trol  of  the  delta  at  its  mouth.  Vaster  commercial  interests 
than  ever  before  were  in  suspense.  Once  more,  also,  a  Bona¬ 
parte  appeared  on  the  borders  of  the  scene  gazing  eagerly  from 
Mexico  upon  the  still  coveted  territory  which  had  been  ceded 
by  his  great  predecessor.  The  brave  and  stalwart  men  of  the 
valley,  in  former  contests  united,  were  now  unhappily  divided 
into  hostile  camps.  As  never  before  it  was  now  a  battle  of 
giants,  equally  brave,  equally  resolved.  The  issue  hung  long 
in  a  balance,  the  scales  of  which  were  filled  with  blood.  But 
the  great-hearted  men  of  the  upper  valley  clothed  themselves 
in  the  panoply  of  the  Union,  drew  in  a  mighty  inspiration 
from  the  sentiment  of  expanding  human  liberty,  and  fought 
four  long  years  to  regain  the  untrammelled  freedom  of  the 
great  river  from  all  its  sources  to  the  sea.  The  bones  of  our 
heroic  dead  who  perished  in  that  fearful  struggle  lie  scattered 
along  all  the  river  shores  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Gulf.  But 
they  did  not  die  in  vain.  We  owe  it  to  their  unfaltering 
courage  that  since  the  end  of  these  years  of  battle,  and  we 
trust  for  all  time  to  come,  every  rivulet  that  falls  eastward 
down  the  rugged  ranges  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  that 
ripples  southward  from  the  far  springs  of  the  Canadian  frontier, 
or  that  leaps  westward  down  the  slopes  of  the  Alleghanies, 
dances  along  all  its  winding  way  through  the  old  Louisiana  to 
the  southern  sea  under  the  folds  of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner 
and  to  the  music  of  the  Union.  All  hail  to  the  memory  of 
these  heroes  dead  ;  and  all  hail  to  their  comrades  who  live  to 
salute  the  dawn  of  this  day  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  their 
deeds ! 


19 


Expansion  a  Vitae  Law  of  the  Republic. 

Such  is  the  outline  of  the  story  of  Louisiana,  first  tossed 
to  and  fro  between  France  and  Spain,  and  then  imperiously 
tossed  by  the  French  Executive  to  the  Envoys  of  the  United 
States.  Eater  it  was  twice  subjected  to  the  wager  of  battle. 
Its  acquisition  is  especially  significant  in  our  history,  as  it  was 
the  first  enlargement  of  that  original  territory  which  our  fathers 
thought  sufficient  for  our  children  until  the  “hundredth  gen¬ 
eration.”  Based  upon  Louisiana,  the  Republic  continued  its 
expansion  across  the  middle  of  the  continent  from  the  great 
ocean  of  the  sunrise  to  the  greater  ocean  of  the  sunset.  Our 
Republic  did  not  dream  yet  of  the  wider  expansion  which  was 
still  enfolded  in  the  shadow  of  her  future  destiny.  She  awaited 
the  reappearance  of  the  index  finger  of  Providence. 

But  important  events  of  our  history  have  taught  us  one 
great  truth  of  our  heredity  as  a  people.  Expansion  is  in  the 
blood  of  our  race.  Organized  liberty  demands  a  broadening 
sphere  of  action.  A  single  generation  may  pause  to  organize 
and  utilize  what  a  previous  one  has  acquired.  But  a  succeed¬ 
ing  generation  will  reassert  the  inherent  impulse  of  the  race  so 
long  as  barbarism  remains  on  the  earth  unsubdued.  Under 
Christian  auspices  it  is  the  Providential  Law  which  from  age 
to  age  opens  up  new  regions  to  the  influences  of  a  higher 
civilization,  and  uplifts  the  inferior  races  by  contact  with  the 
superior.  The  right  to  enforce  civilized  usages  among  man¬ 
kind  is  higher  and  holier  than  the  right  to  maintain  barbaric 
practices  and  inhuman  laws.  The  better  has  an  inherent  moral 
right  to  expand  over  the  worse.  The  justice  and  humanity  of 
the  motive  will  forever  consecrate  the  onward  movement  with 
a  Divine  sanction.  Peace  and  order,  liberty  and  prosperity, 
education  and  morality,  have  hitherto  followed  the  advancing 
flag  of  the  American  Republic.  Wild  beasts  have  given  place 
to  peaceful  herds  and  flocks.  The  wandering  wigwam  has 
been  replaced  by  the  settled  home.  The  ground  of  the  war- 
dance  is  occupied  by  the  school-house,  and  the  pole  hung  with 


20 


scalp-locks  by  the  steeple  of  the  church.  The  vast  desert 
spaces  are  now  laughing  with  harvests,  and  the  various  tribes 
of  the  white  men  are  dwelling  there  in  unity.  Who  can  doubt 
that  such  expansion  is  in  accord  with  the  purposes  of  the 
Almighty  in  the  regeneration  of  the  world  ? 

In  this  spirit  and  with  such  purpose  the  expansion  of  the 
Republic  has  more  widely  advanced  in  later  years.  The  benefi¬ 
cent  changes  to  be  wrought  in  the  alien  races  may  require  a 
full  generation  or  more  for  their  accomplishment.  The  work 
of  the  school-house  is  slow.  The  work  of  the  church  is  dila¬ 
tory.  But  we  have  the  glorious  assurance  of  the  past  that  we 
are  now  doing  the  will  of  the  Great  Ruler  of  Nations  while 
we  follow  our  Providential  Law.  Since  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  we  have  been  led  on  step  by  step  beyond  the  ocean 
boundary  of  our  continent,  following  the  sun  in  his  western 
course,  until  scores  of  islands  of  the  southern  and  central 
Pacific  have  come  peacefully  under  the  dominion  of  the  United 
States.  The  Alaskan  Islands  carried  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Republic  within  the  longitudes  of  Northern  Asia.  By  an 
unforeseen  emergency  of  the  Spanish  War,  declared  for  another 
and  a  humane  purpose,  we  came  into  the  unexpected  posses- 
session  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  on  the  south  of  the  Asiatic 
continent.  Like  Louisiana,  their  purchase  and  annexation 
were  unforeseen  by  the  statesmen  and  people  of  our  country; 
and,  like  Louisiana,  they  will  in  the  process  of  civilization 
reveal  unexpected  resources  for  the  blessing  of  mankind  and 
for  the  advancement  and  security  of  the  Republic. 

A  Ckntury  of  Gfory. 

We  look  back  with  amazement  and  with  gratitude  upon 
this  century  of  our  history.  The  first  year  of  the  XIXth 
century  found  our  youthful  nation  barred  on  the  West  by  our 
great  mediterranean  river,  and  shut  off  from  the  sea  on  the 
South,  with  the  barriers  guarded  by  two  formidable  military 
powers  of  Europe.  Our  incipient  commerce  was  wantonly 


21 


destroyed  on  the  high  seas,  the  common  prey  of  warring 
European  navies,  without  fear  of  reprisals  or  punishment. 
Even  the  paltry  powers  of  the  Barbary  Coast  levied  tribute  on 
our  commercial  vessels  and  held  captured  American  citizens  in 
slavery.  Our  political  parties  at  home  were  more  hostile  to 
each  other  than  to  the  foreigners  who  insulted  our  flag.  The 
Republic  was  neither  respected  nor  envied,  neither  courted  nor 
feared,  by  any  power  of  Europe,  or  Asia,  or  Africa. 

But  now,  in  the  first  year  of  the  XXth  century,  all  this  is 
changed.  Our  matured  nation  is  in  possession  of  the  whole 
northern  shore  of  the  Gulf,  including  all  the  peninsula  of 
Florida,  with  her  jurisdiction  extended  across  the  continent  to 
the  shore  of  the  Pacific,  and  leaping  thence  to  the  farthest 
coast  of  Alaska.  Our  flag  floats  over  a  thousand  islands  of  the 
Western  Ocean.  It  was  the  first  to  be  welcomed  in  the  harbors 
of  Japan,  of  Korea  and  of  China  as  the  emblem  of  international 
peace  and  justice.  The  fame  of  our  Navy  is  wafted  around 
the  world  by  every  wind  that  blows,  and  the  flag  that  covers 
its  guns  assures  protection  to  our  commerce  on  every  sea  and 
in  the  harbors  of  every  continent.  The  Republic  is  respected 
and  honored  as  one  of  the  great  physical  and  moral  powers 
of  the  world.  At  home  a  common  patriotism  unites  our 
political  parties  as  never  before.  It  has  been  exhibited  during 
this  month  when  all  political  parties  in  various  parts  of  this 
great  country  have  been  assembling  to  greet  and  acclaim  a 
President,  who  is  himself  the  soul  of  patriotism  and  national 
honor. 

It  is  a  marvelous  expansion,  a  marvelous  transformation, 
a  miracle  of  the  nations  ! 

Thanks  be  to  the  Almighty  Power  which  has  so  directed 
our  destiny  that  in  this  first  Summer  of  the  new  century,  and 
in  the  third  generation  of  the  Explorers  of  the  West,  the  sun 
never  sets  upon  the  territory  of  the  Republic.  The  brilliant 
orb  which  today  gilds  the  summit  of  this  monument  will  shed 
his  bright  beams  in  every  hour  of  his  daily  circuit  around  the 


22 


globe  upon  some  State  or  territory,  some  plain  or  mountain  or 
island  shore,  over  which  floats  the  beneficent  flag  of  our 
expanded  Republic,  carrying  in  its  folds  the  assurance  of  peace 
and  liberty,  order  and  security,  education  and  civilization  to 
all  the  inhabitants.  May  this  great  Memorial  stand  for  ages 
to  come  to  remind  our  children  of  the  manly  virtues  of  their 
race,  which  in  the  nineteenth  century  made  the  Republic  so 
glorious  in  the  annals  of  history. 


PRESS  OF 


W.  F.  ROBERTS 


